TECHNOLOGY | WASHING


mono and multilayer alike, without requiring pre-sorting. At the heart of the innovation is the patented Friction Washer, which enables mechani- cal delamination of multilayer structures during the washing stage. The result is clean, high-quality hot-washed flakes that meet the rigorous standards applied to PET sheets considered suitable for food-contact applications. “This new tray-to-tray technology is the most advanced and efficient PET washing system on the market, and the first to demonstrate full-scale industrial success in processing mixed PET trays, including multilayers, without compromise,” said Navone.


Above: Thomas Kepka (left), Head of Sales Eastern Europe at Lindner Washtech, and Virginijus Skublickas (right),


Managing Director at Virginijus ir Ko in Lithuania


BoReTech’s global expansion, and the company says it is committed to expanding its footprint in the region, collaborating with local enterprises, and advancing PET recycling technology. In a market shaped by sustainability goals and


increasingly stringent regulatory frameworks, PET packaging has taken a central role in the shift toward a circular economy. Yet one segment continues to resist full integration into closed-loop systems: PET thermoformed trays. While widely used for their barrier properties and shelf-life performance, these trays are particularly challeng- ing to recycle as characteristics such as high organic contamination, low intrinsic viscosity (IV), and elevated brittleness, lead to excessive fines generation and degraded flake quality. As a result, conventional recycling systems often struggle to process them efficiently, resulting in poor yield and limited economic viability. “The challenge becomes even more critical when multilayer PET trays, sometimes representing up to 50% of the input stream, are involved,” said Claudio Navone, Recycling Department Manager at Amut, an Italian company specialising in extrusion and recycling technologies for plastics. “Most conventional systems are unable to handle the complexity and are forced to remove multilayer trays at the sorting stage, lowering material recovery rates and overall system performance. This not only impacts profitability but also jeopard- ises compliance with evolving EU circularity objectives, which increasingly demand that packaging be demonstrably recyclable and, for food-contact applications, meet stringent safety criteria under Regulation (EC) No 282/2008.” Following years of R&D, Amut’s patented


tray-to-tray recycling solution marks a significant breakthrough. What sets the technology apart is its capacity to process mixed PET tray feedstocks,


26 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | July/August 2025


Big bag recycling Lithuanian company Virginijus ir Ko has been collecting, sorting and processing packaging and industrial waste materials from trade, commerce, and agriculture since 2001, and now processes around 35,000 tonnes/yr. In 2023, the company commissioned a LindnerWashtech facility consisting of a shredding and washing system, a process water treatment system, and an extrusion system with odour decontamination, to turn big bags into high-quality pellets. Big bags are usually made of PP and are tear-resistant and extremely hard-wearing, properties that make the recycling process very demanding. As with many plastic recy- cling processes, the first shredding stage is one of the most important as the entire process chain must be precisely coordinated to guarantee a high level of material purity. “In the subsequent process steps, the main focus is on gently removing any remaining impurities and drying the material,” said Tomas Kepka, Head of Sales Eastern Europe at Lindner Washtech. The Rafter pre-wash system patented by Lindner


Washtech, with its low speed of approximately 60 rpm, is ideal for removing stones and sand. Up to 90% of all dirt and contaminants can be extracted in this first step. In subsequent processes, the pre-washed flakes can be processed more gently, avoiding material losses due to fine particles. After cleaning, the material must be optimally prepared in the drying unit for the extrusion process. “When drying big bag materials, we use the mechanical dryer from the Loop Dryer series,” said Kepka. “It is equipped with special tools that prevent high stress on the material due to friction. The dryer also has a frequency converter so that the speed can be adjusted and controlled.” At the upcoming K 2025 trade fair in Düsseldorf, Lindner and a well-known partner plan to present an innovative washing process that it says “sets new


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: LINDNER WASHTECH


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